1. Field of the Invention
The invention broadly relates to devices for circulating air inside shoes.
2. Prior Art
A shoe worn in warm weather is hot, humid and uncomfortable. Therefore, many devices for circulating air inside a shoe have been invented. U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,979 discloses a pump connected to air channels for recirculating air drawn in through an intake, but there is no exhaust port for expelling the hot air. U.S. Pat. No. 220,475 discloses a shoe cooled by air channels with a port adjacent the heel and another port in the sole, but has no pump for moving air through the channels. US published patent application 2004/0078996 discloses a shoe with resilient tubes in the sole open to opposite edges of the sole, but the tubes have no valve for directing airflow. U.S. Pat. No. 2,474,815 discloses a shoe pad with an intake and a discharge valve feeding a manifold, but there is no apparent connection between the valves. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,041,519 and 3,475,836, and published patent application 2002/0066207 each disclose a shoe pad with a pump with a single valve feeding a manifold. U.S. Pat. No. 592,822 disclose a ventilated sole with an intake aperture, but the aperture is not a valve and there is no pump. U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,314 to Petracci discloses a shoe with a pump on the insole and a one way valve for sucking air from inside the shoe and exhausting it from the back of the heel. A specially made sole is required.